New Yorker Brian Sirgutz discovered Deadsy in early 1996, and signed the band to a production deal through his imprint, WitcHouse, and to his management company, Eerie.[10] Sirgutz then made contact with Risa Morley, an A&R representative at Sire Records, who in turn passed Deadsy on to her boss, Seymour Stein; Stein was responsible for signing Deadsy to Sire Records, backed by a new distribution and financing deal secured through Elektra Entertainment Group.[10][11]
Deadsy's original content varies greatly from the selection of songs that later appeared on Commencement. Only five of the nine songs from Deadsy appear on Commencement: "Lake Waramaug," "The Elements," "Flowing Glower," "Future Years," and "Cruella." These were heavily re-mixed and partly re-recorded for their eventual use on Commencement.[12]
The four remaining songs ("From Beyond", "This Goodnight", "Anti-Pop", and "Sleepy Hollow") were never released elsewhere. "Anti-Pop" is a Kommunity FK cover, which originally appeared on the band's 1983 album The Vision and the Voice, while "Sleepy Hollow" features a guest appearance by KoЯn vocalist, Jonathan Davis.[16][17] Another song recorded during the album sessions, but that was left out, was "Replicas"; a Gary Numan cover which originally appeared on Tubeway Army's 1979 album Replicas.[18] The cover song was exclusively released by Beggars Banquet Records on the Gary Numan Various Artiststribute albumRandom, on June 10, 1997.[19]
With Deadsy scheduled for worldwide release on February 25, 1997, Sire Records started pushing "The Elements" to college radio stations as the lead CD single in January 1997.[3][5][20][21] This was paired with several variations of advanced and promotional copies of the full-length album, sent to radio stations and members of the press, between December 1996 and February 1997.[2][4][6] By early February 1997, however, Elektra Entertainment Group began doubting the potential of the release and decided to quietly shelve it.[2][22] Deadsy then attempted to part ways with Elektra Entertainment Group, but Sire Records remained hopeful and continued to shop the record around to other major distributors through the WEA grapevine.[7][23]Warner Music Group eventually agreed to distribute Deadsy in early 1998, but by this time, Deadsy had recorded additional material and revamped their self-titled debut into Commencement.[9][24] The track listing for Commencement only changed slightly when originally scheduled for release on May 5, 1998; but it would change drastically over the years, as it was repeatedly delayed (first to October 26, 1999, then to October 2000, then to summer 2001) and dropped by record labels and distributors, until it was finally released on May 14, 2002.[9][24][25][22]
